Biographical note

Lois Elaine Wacker White earned a diploma in nursing from Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Springfield, Illinois; an Associate degree in Science from Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas; a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas A & I University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas; a Master of Science in Education from Corpus Christi State University, Corpus Christi, Texas; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in education administration-community college from the University of Texas, Austin, Texas. She has taught at Del Mar college, Corpus Christi, Texas, in both the Associate Degree Nursing program and the Vocational Nursing program. For 14 years she was also chairperson of the Department of Vocational Nurse Education. Dr. White has taught fundamentals of nursing, mental health/mental illness, medical-surgical nursing, and maternal/newborn nursing. Her professional career has also included 15 years of clinical practice. Dr. White has served on the Nursing Education Advisory Committee of the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas and the Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners, which developed competencies expected of graduates for each level of nursing. She maintains membership in the Texas Association of Vocational Nurse Educators, Sigma Theta Tau, American Nurses Association, and the National League for Nursing. Working as an RN for 36 years as a clinician and educator has equipped Gena with a wide range of nursing experiences and varied skills to meet the educational needs of today's students. She has a MSEd and MSN. During her professional career, Gena served as a staff nurse, assistant head nurse of a medical-surgical unit, continuing education instructor, associate professor in an LPN, LPN-RN, and ADN program, and director of an associate degree nursing program. She has taught LPN, ADN, BSN, and MSN nursing students. As a faculty member she taught many nursing courses and served on a statewide curriculum committee for a state college. As director of an associate degree nursing program, she was instrumental in starting and obtaining state board approval of an LPN-RN nursing program. She also assisted with the development of an associate degree program in a state college. Her master's research thesis was titled, An Investigation of Learning Styles of Practical and Baccalaureate Students. The results of the study are published in the Journal of Nursing Education. She has co-authored six textbooks, two foundations of nursing texts, two medical-surgical textbooks, a foundations of maternal and pediatric nursing, and a transitions text for LPN to RN students. Gena presented the topic Clinical Practicum: Ready or Not, at the Health Occupations Students of America 2010 Education Symposium. She has been an active member of Sigma Theta Tau. Wendy Baumle earned a bachelor of science in nursing from The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, and a master's degree in nursing from The Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio. She has taught at Lutheran College, Fort Wayne, Indiana; James. A. Rhodes State College, in Lima, Ohio; and at Northwest State Community College, Archbold, Ohio. With 20 years as a clinician, educator, school district health coordinator, and academician, Wendy has taught advanced standing LPN to RN transition, nursing theory, fundamentals of nursing, medical-surgical nursing, pediatrics, obstetrics, pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, and ethics in healthcare in practical nursing, associate nursing, and advanced standing transition degree programs. She has membership in a number of professional nursing organizations, such as Sigma Theta Tau, the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, and the Ohio Nurses Association. Currently, Wendy is a nursing instructor at Northwest State Community College in Ohio.